Hooked (41 page)

     We started walking down the hallway.  When we got to the elevator
,
I looked at Cash to say something with my heart in my stomach.  I started crying because I didn’t know what else
to do.  We walked out to the lobby and I looked around.  I looked out the window next to the fire place and spotted him.  I ran outside in a panic.  I had only felt like this one other time in my life
and that was the night Cameron was forcing himself on me.

     “Eli!” I shouted from the door. 

    
You have got to be kidding me.  Was I in a dream, because I know that I do not see my brother sucking face with some
skank
we don’t know like he doesn’t have a care in the world as I was so
sick
with worry that I almost threw up on my boyfriend twice.  They were in the hot tub making out.  I ran over there ready to ring his neck.

     “Eli! 
What the crap do you think you’re doing?”

     “What?” he snapped.

     “What?  What?  I was worried sick about you.  I’ve called you, texted you, went to your room!”

    
“Mil, calm down.
  He’s fine, let’s just go back up to the room, we can talk with him there
,
” Cash said trying to make the situation better.

     “No, I almost threw up five minutes ago.  Eli, you can’t just g
o do whatever the heck you want!
”  I yelled at him. 

    
The poor girl he was with looked terrified.  She got out of the hot tub and grabbed a towel.
 
“Eli
,
I’ll just umm, I guess I’ll see you around
,
”
s
he mumbled and hurried back in the hotel lobby.

     “What the hell
,
Millie?  I’ve been here the whole time.  I’m almost
fifteen
, stop being a bit—
”

    
“Don’t you even think about saying what I think you’re going to say,” Cash interrupted him.
 
“Your sister was just scared for you and was
upset
when you didn’t
answer your phone.
”
 
Eli stared at Cas
h in disbelief.  “I mean it, Eli.
Y
ou won’t talk to her like that, not while I’m around.  Millie, go up to the room and we will be there in a minute, alright?”

     I considered telling him no
,
but he did seem to have a way with Eli.  I watched my brother pace around and decided it would be best.
 

    
“Alright,” I
said turning to walk back up to our room. 

    
As I was walking
through the lobby,
I wondered what they were saying.
I know he was embarrassed
,
but I was mad at him.  He didn’t even consider that I would be looking for him.  I paced around the room, flipped the TV on and off, checked my text messages.  Ugh, what is taking them so long?

     Finally, thirty minutes later
,
Cash walked in and I met him at the door.  “What took so long?  Is he ok
ay
?”

     “Yeah, he’s cool.”

     “Well, what did he say?  I know he’s mad at me.”

     “He
,
well, yeah he’s pissed
.  I just had to talk him down and let him know you were just worried about him.”

     “He should’ve answered his phone.  I was scared something had happened to him.”

     He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me.  “Sweetheart, I know you were scared
,
but you embarrassed him in front of a chick, Mil.  That’s like cutting off his ba
ll
—,” he started to finish, but looked up at me and changed the way he was trying to explain it to me, “
that’s one of
the worst thing
s
you can do to a guy when he’s trying to hook up.”

     I bent myself backwards in his arms so I could see his face.  “Hook up?  I don’t think he was trying to hook up.  He wasn’t trying to hook up, no that’s not,
wait, was he trying to hook up?
  He’s only
fourteen
.”

     He started laughing at me, “Why are you freaking out?  Mil, he’s almost
fifteen
.  Do you really think he’s not trying to get girls?  He was making out with a girl he met five minutes before we found him.”

     His words started sinking in.  My brother was a freaking player.  I couldn’t really see Eli like that.  I guess I always knew the girl’s like
d
him
,
but he never had a girlfriend.  He always did his own thing and never brought it up when we talked.  I just assumed he didn’t want me to know that much about his personal life.

     “I can’t believe it
.
I guess I just didn’t think about it.  He will turn
fifteen
the day after Christmas.  I wasn’t really interested in boys at that age
,
so I didn’t think about him being interested in girls.”

     We hugged each other tight.  I was really appreciating the fact that I had him with me when something like this happened.

     “You’re so innocent,” he said as he grabbed my face
.
“
I love that about you.”

     I smiled at his comment, “I guess I need to go talk to him.”

     “Yeah, he’s had enough time to cool off.  I’ll wait right here
.
”
H
e bounced on the bed wiggling his eyebrows at me.

     “You’re incorrigible,” I ground out.  “I’ll be back in a little bit and we can go down to the hot tub if you still want to.”

     When Eli answered the door he had his eyebrows creased like he was thinking about something.  “Hey.”

     “Hey, come in
.
”
  H
e held his arm out leading me in.

     “I’m sorry about embarrassing you.”  He looked at me
,
but didn’t say anything.  “I was worried for you and when you weren’t in your room
,
I got scared.  That’s the reason I got so mad at you because you didn’t even let me know.”

     He walked around the bed and sat in the chair with his elbows on his knees.  “Look Mil, I understand you were upset, or well, Cash made me understand
,
but you are not my mom.  I may be younger than you
,
but I can take care of myself.  I was mad that you started yelling at me
,
but I’m over it.  Just don’t act like that again and we’ll be cool, a
l
right?”

     I was shocked that he was talking to me like this.  He seemed a lot older to me.  “I’m really sorry
,
E
,
but please don’t ever do that to me again.  I thought something had happened to you.”

     He stood up and walked over to me.  He was so much bigger than
me
,
it really did look like he was older.  I hugged him, “I can’t believe you were making out with some
skank
you just met
.
T
hat’s gross
,
Eli.”

     “I’m a dude
,
Mil, a
fifteen
year old dude at that.  Its quantity not quality at this point, don’t tell me you had expectations,” he said smirking.

     “I guess I thought since you were kin to me you
had
a little bit of class or even a brain
,
”
I joked with him.  “I’m going to get Cash
.  D
o you want to come back down the hot tub with us?”

     “Umm, that’s
gonna
be a no and since you ruined my chance with the
skank
,
I guess I’ll just chill up here,” he said laughing.

     I looked him straight in the eye so he would know I meant what I was saying to him because usually we teased each other.  “I love you, you know that?  You’re a good brother and I don’t tell you that enough.”

     He smiled at me, “I love you too
,
sis and trust me, I don’t need you boosting my ego, I know how good I am,” he teased.

     “Ugh, no one could ever boost your ego because you keep it so big on you
r
own.  You should really stop doing that, it’s not attractive.”

     “Well, it’s a good thing I’m not trying to attract you then
,
because the normal girls dig it.”

     “Whatever
,
Eli,” I said rolling my eyes.  I
walked
to the door and opened it when he called my name
,
so I turned around. 
“Yeah?”

   
“I’m glad you’re with Cash, he’s a good guy.”

     “Me too,” I said as I smiled to myself and walked out.

     When I got back to our room
,
Cash was sitting on the bed watching a game.  “How’d it go?”

     “It went good, he was sweet.”

     “Good, I’m glad you guys worked it out.”

     I walked over to him and he pulled me down onto his lap.  He hugged me tight and I kept replaying Eli’s words to me in my head about how Cash was a great guy.  “You are so good to me, I appreciate that.”

   
“Well
,
thank you
,
sweetheart, you are good to me too and you are good for me.”

     “How did you get him to calm down?”

     “It wasn’t that big of a deal.  I just told him how worried you were when we
couldn’t
get a hold of him.”

     “Well
,
whatever you did, thank you,” I said kissing him.

     “Sweetheart, if you start this
,
I promise we’re not
gonna
make it to that hot tub you’re so excited about getting in,” he said around my lips.

     “Oh
,
alright, I’ll go change and we’ll be ready to go in no time,” I said as I got off of him
to go and change
.  I just put my tank top on with some of his basketball shorts over my suit. 

     We walked down to the hot tub hand in hand.  We talked about our Christmas break and his work schedule.  “I’m going to work every hour I can
,
so I’ll have some extra money when my mom comes home
,
ok
ay
?”

     “I wish you didn’t have to
,
but I understand.  I guess I’ll just have to bring you dinner so I can see you,” I teased.

     “That sounds like an awesome plan to me
.
”
H
e winked at me.

     There was no one in the hot tub when we got down there and I was glad.  Cash took off his shirt and got in.  I peeled my shirt and his shorts off and walked over beside him to get in and he held his hand out for me to take.  I got in and settled down next to him. 

    
“Mil, you are the most beautiful thing I have ever
laid eyes on,
” he told me as he pulled me close.